If you're a fan of the popular cooking contest Chopped, then you're probably a fan of Alex Guarnaschelli, too.
Guarnaschelli, who's been a recurring face on Chopped for over a decade, has also appeared
on a number of other Food Network shows, and is the owner and executive chef at Manhattan's Butter Midtown.
Guarnaschelli's culinary successes may not be too much of a surprise, considering her upbringing.
Her late mother, Maria Guarnaschelli, was a celebrated cookbook editor who worked on
big-name projects such as Classic Indian Cooking by Julie Sahni, and even a revision of Joy of Cooking.
Meanwhile, her late father, John Guarnaschelli, was what she describes on her website as "an
Italian and Chinese cooking enthusiast."
Alex says her parents were the ones who originally got her interested in preparing foods.
In an interview with USA Today, she recalled:
"I always loved to eat but I also loved watching my parents cook.
My father enjoyed cooking Chinese food while my mother took a liking to French cuisine.
The fun, creative energy my parents had together in the kitchen led me to start my culinary career."
Still, although she may have been raised on the finest home-cooked international food,
Guarnaschelli does indulge in a guilty pleasure every now and then.
For starters, she loves the burgers at In-N-Out.
In the same vein, Guarnaschelli can get down with a hot dog, too, telling Food & Wine that
"a good American hot dog" is one of her favorite foods.
Guarnaschelli is also a big fan of carbs in pretty much every form, and once shared on
her website that, after a long day of filming Chopped, she craves nothing more than a simple slice of toast.
The star wrote:
"All I ever want when I get home from a day like that is to eat two to four slices of
buttered and salted sourdough toast."
When it comes to the more serious side of cooking, however, Guarnaschellie has one favorite in particular.
Having trained under Guy Savoy for years in Paris and studied at La Varenne Cooking School
in Burgundy, it seems only natural that her preferred cuisine to cook is French.
But she had another influence in this respect.
Guarnaschelli once wrote on her website:
"I really do love French food and it's because my mother cooked it so much while I was growing up."
The chef once revealed that her mother's cooking was the source of her most memorable meal,
too, telling Food Network:
"My mother cooked me a birthday dinner at home when I was 11 or 12.
Scallops in their shells and my favorite chocolate caramel cake.
[...] Best meal I can ever remember eating."
As for Guarnaschelli's favorite French dish to cook herself:
"There is a recipe online for a cheese soufflé that I make and without a doubt that's the
best recipe I've made and eaten."
But there are some things that the Food Network chef doesn't make at home.
For starters, she's a firm believer that store-bought ketchup is always better than the homemade kind.
Guarnaschellie once told Food & Wine:
"I enjoy making mustards, mayonnaises, pickles, jams, and such at home.
I do not, however, think I can better replicate store-bought ketchup.
I'll always buy and serve ketchup."
And while Guarnaschelli has clearly accomplished plenty both in and out of the kitchen, ask
her about the two things she's most proud of and she'll answer without hesitation:
"Being a mother and becoming an Iron Chef.
Hard work got me both."
Guarnaschelli earned the title in 2012, when she beat out nine other chefs in The Next
Iron Chef: Redemption.
And as for her daughter, Ava Clark?
Guarnaschelli says she's her biggest accomplishment.
The Chopped judge did admit to Star Chefs that her pregnancy made being a chef difficult,
between the cravings, the weird food aversions, and the fatigue — but she wouldn't trade it for the world.
She said:
"One look at her and it's all worth it."
Guarnaschelli also told Food Network that, out of all the celebrity chefs she's cooked
alongside, her daughter is still her favorite person to cook with — not least because
she's one of her toughest critics.
"She looks at me and says, 'mom, you've been chopped.'
She'll give it to me straight.
And I like that."
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